


The Person You Like

by MilkTeaMiku



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, Confessions, Fluff, Growing Up Together, Introspection, Love Confessions, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:15:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8579971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkTeaMiku/pseuds/MilkTeaMiku
Summary: Yamaguchi’s eyes fluttered. “W-wait, wait. The person you like is in our class, tall, has freckles, a-and is… a boy?” 
 When Yamaguchi won't confess, Tsukishima does.





	

Tsukishima hasn’t always liked Yamaguchi.

To be fair, there weren’t very many people he liked straight away. He didn’t trust people, and fundamentally, he felt like he was wired to oppose them. That jerk reaction of his hadn’t been as bad when he was a kid, but he’d clashed with people who had opposing personalities, and there was no one more different to him than Yamaguchi.

That had been what he’d thought, anyway.

Yamaguchi had a sweet face. His gentle eyes were contrasted by his sly smile, and his expressions were generally quite raw and telling. Tsukishima thought that he was perhaps one of the only people to think of Yamaguchi like that, because a lot of people couldn’t see through Yamaguchi’s kind eyes and honest encouragements. For all his honesty, he was good at hiding what he really felt, but Tsukishima could see through him.

He wasn’t quite sure when he noticed that Yamaguchi liked him, but maybe it had happened the first time they’d ever interacted. Yamaguchi thought that Tsukishima had saved him from bullies, but that hadn’t been Tsukishima’s intention. He was glad he’d done it, of course, and he didn’t hate the fact that Yamaguchi’s affections towards him had been a by-product of Tsukishima prodding at bullies like they were caged animals. It was just interesting to think about, that’s all. 

What was more interesting, however, was when he started to like Yamaguchi back, he thought. Once he’d figured out Yamaguchi’s quirks, his hidden expressions, he’d suddenly felt relieved. Unravelling Yamaguchi, even just a little, had made his heart race. That had never happened to him before. It was then that he realised he kind of liked Yamaguchi too, though that was years and years after they’d met.

He knew their relationship wasn’t exactly what normal relationships were like, not even for childhood friends. Tsukishima wasn’t a nice person, and he didn’t make friends easily. It always surprised people that Yamaguchi was close to him, because people didn’t know Yamaguchi like Tsukishima did. For all his inherent bitterness and his poor attitude, Tsukishima was pleased to know he had someone like Yamaguchi following him around. When it came down to it, Yamaguchi was loyal, and that was something Tsukishima could appreciate.

“Tsukki, you look like you’re thinking about something really hard.”

Tsukishima pulled his headphones away from his ears. He was listening to music, but it wasn’t loud enough to muffle Yamaguchi’s voice. He wondered if Yamaguchi knew he kept the volume low now, so that he could listen to whatever it was Yamaguchi talked about. It wasn’t something he used to do, but Yamaguchi didn’t seem to have a problem talking at Tsukishima, even if he wasn’t listening. 

“What are you thinking about?” Yamaguchi asked. Their height difference wasn’t a great amount – ten centimetres, if Yamaguchi hadn’t grown since the last time Tsukishima heard about it, because it wasn’t like he kept track or anything – but it was enough that Yamaguchi had to look up at him. 

“Nothing,” he said, as he slipped his hands into his pockets. They were walking home from school, and the air was cold. Winter would come soon, and then Yamaguchi would start to wear scarves and beanies. His hair always became unruly when it had been tapped under a woollen beanie, and it gave Tsukishima something to glance at when they walked. It was kind of nice.

“Oh, was it something private?” Yamaguchi grinned. He had two kinds of smiles, Tsukishima thought – or at least two that he used frequently. The first was a big, proud smile, one that stretched his cheeks and showed his teeth. It often came when Yamaguchi landed a serve, or when he cheered for Tsukishima. The second was a sly grin, an imitation of the one Tsukishima aimed at people to frighten them, but on Yamaguchi it wasn’t scary, it was smug. He used that one when he was agreeing with something Tsukishima said, or when he was showing off. That was the kind of smile he wore then.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima said. He didn’t really want Yamaguchi to shut up, and he didn’t say it coldly, not anymore.

He was glad Yamaguchi understood that. “Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, but he wasn’t sorry, and his grin had turned from the latter to the first. 

Yamaguchi said that a lot. _Sorry, Tsukki._ It was a strange thing, Tsukishima thought, because he was never sorry, just in the same way Tsukishima never wanted him to stop talking. He’d say it to amuse Tsukishima, like it was his half of a promise that was always started by Tsukishima. If he were being honest, he liked the sound of his name coming from Yamaguchi, because Yamaguchi was the only one who called him “Tsukki”. It only sounded right coming from Yamaguchi, and he only let Yamaguchi call him that.

“Ah, hold on a moment, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, as they reached Ukai’s convenience store. “I’m going to grab something to eat.”

He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t leave, either. They always walked home together. 

Yamaguchi returned with a small bag a few moments later, and they continued on their way. He was wearing another smile, one that he didn’t often show others; it was like the first, but it was smaller, his lips pressed together into a curved line that only just contained his joy. Tsukishima thought that pleased little smile was nice, too.

“Here, Tsukki, have one,” Yamaguchi said, as he opened the bag and offered it to him. Steam rose off of the hot meat buns inside; there were two, like Yamaguchi had known Tsukishima would take one if it was offered.

“Thanks,” he said.

Yamaguchi grinned. “No problem, Tsukki!”

And there it was. A pretty smile and an enthusiastic shout of his name, the name only Yamaguchi could say. Yamaguchi had been the one to give him that name too, right? Maybe that was why Tsukishima like hearing it as often as he did.

There was another smile, one of Yamaguchi’s rarer ones, that Tsukishima favoured. It was a secret smile, a bashful one that he hid by ducking his chin or turning his face, like he was embarrassed by it. It was a smile that made Tsukishima want to kiss Yamaguchi, and had been one of the smiles that made Tsukishima realise that he liked Yamaguchi.

Sometimes it gave him a headache, when he thought about Yamaguchi so much. He didn’t want to overanalyse anything with Yamaguchi, because that would make him overthink, and it was best that he took what Yamaguchi gave him at face value. Yamaguchi had never lied to him, after all, and he was unendingly loyal. He could be just as bitter and sly as Tsukishima, of course, but he was sweet, and encouraging, too. That’s the point in their personalities where they differed.

There were times where Tsukishima wondered what would happen if he told Yamaguchi he liked him. He knew Yamaguchi had feelings for him; he could see it, as plain as day, and had known about it for years. For a while he thought that Yamaguchi would confess to him, especially after the training camp, when they both started to change. He never did, though. Still hadn’t.

He was sure Yamaguchi would accept his feelings, if Tsukishima expressed them. He just wasn’t sure he could actually say it. Didn’t it seem out of character for somebody like him? He wasn’t sure what would happen afterwards, either. Yamaguchi would return them, and then they’d be together, wouldn’t they? That sounded right, but he wasn’t so sure. It was new territory, and completely hypothetical at that.

A sigh escaped him. He didn’t quite want it to be hypothetical anymore. He was sick of holding back, and of being held back. He wanted to move forwards, wanted to continue to progress in all aspects of his life. There wasn’t anything to measure up his achievements against except his own expectations, but his wants affected those, as well. When it came down to it, he thought there was a simple way to test his feelings.

It was irritating, but he thought about Yamaguchi getting a boyfriend, or girlfriend. He thought about Yamaguchi going on dates with somebody, and enjoying them. He thought about Yamaguchi telling him about them, or worrying about what he should wear and asking Tsukishima’s opinion. He thought about having to lie about being happy for Yamaguchi, and about having to suffer through Valentine’s Day and anniversaries and Christmases. He thought about having to meet and get along with the person who was taking Yamaguchi’s time away from him.

It really was irritating.

“Tsukki?”

He’d stopped walking now, and could feel a frown twisting at his lips. Maybe confessing would be the best route to take, after all.

“Tsukki, are you alright?” Yamaguchi asked. He was standing in front of Tsukishima now, giving his face a worried once over. “Does your stomach hurt? Do you feel sick?”

“Yamaguchi, have you ever thought about dating someone?”

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened. It was a pretty surprising question, he supposed, especially coming from someone like him. Still, Yamaguchi considered it. “Well, of course I have, but all the girls in our class like you, Tsukki. Didn’t you get confessed to last week?”

He had, and it had been a bother. He didn’t like rejecting the girls that offered him love letters or small gifts, because he didn’t know them and didn’t want their feelings to get hurt, but he wouldn’t accept them, either. They weren’t the person he liked, and pretending that they were would have been wrong on his behalf. “There’s someone else I like,” he said instead.

Something strange passed over Yamaguchi’s face, but he hid whatever it actually was quite well. “Oh, is that so? Who is it, Tsukki? Maybe I know her!”

Tsukishima sighed again, and rubbed the back of his neck. How did he go about confessing gracefully? He wasn’t sure. He’d never been on this end of the conversation before. “Is there anyone you like?” He asked, as he returned his impassive stare to his friend.

Yamaguchi flushed red. “W-why do you ask?”

He didn’t say anything, because he knew Yamaguchi would continue talking.

“It’s not like they like me back, or anything,” he said, looking down at his hands. His expression had turned nervous, but oddly enough, Tsukishima liked it on him. It was a bashful sort of nervousness, and it gave him an innocent air that Tsukishima felt privy to. “I-I mean, what’s there to like? I’m not- not attractive, or talented, or anything-”

Tsukishima stared at him blankly. He thought Yamaguchi was very attractive; he had a thing for freckles, but only because Yamaguchi had them. He thought Yamaguchi’s jump float serve was a pretty talented thing for him to be able to do, as well. “How about you try to guess who I like?” Tsukishima said. He used a tone of voice that meant he was joking, but he knew Yamaguchi would see through it, and think that he was getting to see a side of Tsukishima that Tsukishima didn’t want to show (which he did, because that was the point of confessing). “Like a game.”

“O-Okay, Tsukki!”

“The person is in our class,” he said.

Yamaguchi frowned, and hummed, like he was honestly trying to think of a classmate that Tsukishima might be affectionate towards. “Is it Saeko?”

“They’re tall,” he said next. 

Yamaguchi pressed his fist against his palm. “Oh! Rin is quite tall, isn’t she? Is it her? I think she would say yes if you confessed to her.”

“It’s not her,” he said. “The person I like has freckles.”

A dip was starting to appear in Yamaguchi’s brows. “In our class, tall, with freckles… Does Akari have freckles? I can never tell, she wears makeup…”

“It’s not a girl.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes fluttered. “W-wait, wait. The person you like is in our class, tall, has freckles, a-and is… a boy?”

“Didn’t you hear me the first time I said it?”

“B-but…”

He looked helplessly confused now. There was a small, open-mouthed frown on his lips and a harrowed look in his eyes, like Yamaguchi really couldn’t fathom that the person Tsukishima was talking about happened to be him. There was no one else in their class, or even their grade, that fit that description, after all. How much clearer did he have to be? “You understand, don’t you, Yamaguchi?” He said, as he put his hands back into his pockets. “You’re smart enough to figure it out.”

Slowly but surely, Yamaguchi’s face was turning a rather appealing shade of red. “But, Tsukki, I don’t… why?”

That was a question he hadn’t expected, but Yamaguchi was always doing unexpected things, wasn’t he? For a moment Tsukishima scrambled for an answer that would satisfy Yamaguchi, make him believe it completely. “Do you think I have bad taste, or something?” He finally said.

“N-no, of course not, Tsukki!”

“Then there’s your answer,” he said. After glancing over his shoulder once, just to make sure a certain oddball duo hadn’t snuck up on them, he cleared his throat. “If… If you want a different answer, it’s because I like you. I like your personality and your looks and your volleyball. I like having your attention to myself.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened. “Tsukki…!”

“I’m not saying it again.” God, now he was embarrassed. Were all romantic things going to be so painful to get through? He couldn’t fathom how people willingly blurted out things like that.

Without warning, Yamaguchi threw himself at Tsukishima. His arms went around Tsukishima’s waist, and his hands gripped fistfuls of the back of Tsukishima’s school sweater. His nose was pressing against Tsukishima’s collarbones, and his hair was tickling Tsukishima’s chin. In that moment Yamaguchi felt unexpectedly small, or like he was trying to make himself be smaller.

Tsukishima just wanted him to be Yamaguchi.

He wasn’t the best at showing affection, but he wanted to, then. He put his arms around Yamaguchi, though not as tight, and carefully rested one hand on the back of Yamaguchi’s head. He was tempted to press his nose into Yamaguchi’s hair, but he resisted. Another day, perhaps. “I’m not saying it again,” he whispered. “Aren’t you meant to give me an answer, Yamaguchi?”

Yamaguchi startled, but didn’t draw away. He let out a breathless, happy sound, and his grip on Tsukishima’s sweater tightened. “I like Tsukki,” he said.

It made Tsukishima’s heart race more than he thought it would. He felt his eyes widen, just a little, and he couldn’t help but press Yamaguchi closer. _I like Tsukki._ He wanted to hear that again.

“Tsukki, I can hear your heart racing,” Yamaguchi said, both awed and amused as he turned his head to press his ear flat against Tsukishima’s chest. “I really like you, Tsukki.”

It was embarrassing how flustered that made him. “Shut up, Yamaguchi.” _Please don’t stop._

“Sorry, Tsukki.” _I won’t._


End file.
